2014 Year in Review

It's been a while hasn't it? I'm almost finished with a do-over Beignet skirt I've been working on for ages, and I made two new pillow covers to go with our new couch. Home dec is boring so I decided to get fancy and make my own piping, despite my recent pledge to never make piping again. I am a liar. I'll have pictures soon, but for now I wanted to check in to do my year-end wrap up!

This has been a really great year for sewing. I only made 9 garments, but amazingly all of them (all of them!) were hits. I'm a slow sewer and have several other hobbies, so I'm thrilled to have a few well-made and well-loved garments over a bunch of quick "meh" ones. Here are my Top 3:

3. Spider-Man Dress

I only got to wear this for one night at DragonCon, but oh, what a night it was! I had such a good time doing the Retro/Pin-up Superheroes group costume with my girlfriends. Plus, this was the most technically challenging thing I've ever made, and I was so relieved that the weeks of effort, ripped stitches and fabric indecision paid off. I felt like the fit was spot on, and aside from some collar issues I'm proud of the construction.

2. Strathcona Tee

It's just a simple tee shirt, but Brian LOVES this thing. He swears it's the most comfortable shirt he owns, and brags to everyone who will listen that I made it. It's touching that he is so appreciative of the time I spent working on the fit. I already bought fabric to make more.

1. Buffalo Check Shirt Dress

Hands down my favorite thing I've ever made. The pattern, fabric and fit alterations came together to make the world's most perfect dress. I wear it when I'm feeling a little nervous and need a boost of fabulous.

As far as misses, this year I really only had one: the Miette Cardigan.

I won't dwell on it because it makes me supremely cranky to think about the dozens of hours I put into this bat-winged wadder. People keep telling me it's not that bad, but I can't bring myself to wear it around the house, let alone in public. Lesson learned: Sometimes  a pattern just doesn't work for your body and you should accept it and move on immediately, instead of a year and thousands of stitches later.

I feel like this year was a turning point where I went from stumbling around in the dark to feeling more confident and ready to take on new challenges. My big goal for 2015 is jeans! I have been having the worst time finding jeans that fit, so I decided to be brave and give it a go. I recently bought the Ginger Jeans pattern and denim, so wish me luck!